Switzerland delivers critical water filtering sand to Ukrainian waterworks

Switzerland had sent 3,500 tonnes of quartz sand to the Donbass waterworks in east Ukraine, enabling four million people to have access to safe drinking water for roughly one year, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) said Tuesday.

"By supporting the Donbass waterworks we are helping millions of people on both side of the contact line in these difficult times," Manuel Bessler, the delegate for Swiss Humanitarian Aid, explained in a statement.

The consignment of sand, which was transported by train in a series of shipments at the beginning of the month, was handed over at Kostyantinivka near the contact line in the troubled area of east Ukraine.

The sand was then transported to Donbass waterworks where the sand will be cleaned in a special facility before being used to treat water, FDFA indicated.

The use of quartz sand to filtrate water is one of several stages necessary to make water safe to drink.

The delivery adds to four other aid shipments made by Switzerland since April 2015, including the provision of chemicals such as aluminium sulphate and chlorine as well as medical materials and medicines.

The convoy is supported and monitored by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the only state actor which has been able to organise humanitarian convoys across the contact line in eastern Ukraine. Endit